Last Updated 17th February 2026. Anaesthetic negligence can include a healthcare professional administering the incorrect dosage, injecting in the wrong area or a failure to assess any allergies you may have to anaesthesia. Therefore, a healthcare professional could breach their duty of care by failing to meet the minimum expected standard of care when administering anaesthesia. You could therefore claim for medical negligence compensation such as any physical and mental pain and suffering (general damages), as well as financial losses like care costs and counselling sessions (special damages).
Throughout this medical negligence claims guide, we will explain what types of anaesthetics there are, provide examples of situations where things could go wrong and the potential consequences that anaesthetic negligence can have. Very often, when making a claim, you may want to know how much compensation could be awarded should your claim be successful. For that reason, we take a look at how medical negligence compensation can be calculated.
In the final sections of this guide, we are going to provide you with examples of pieces of evidence that you could gather in support of your claim and look at how one of our medical negligence solicitors could represent you on a No Win No Fee basis.
To discuss the matter further, don’t hesitate to get in touch with one of our advisors for a free, no-obligation consultation.
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What Is Anaesthetic Negligence?
Anaesthetic negligence is a form of medical negligence that occurs when an anaesthetist or another medical professional provides substandard care at any stage of the surgical process and causes a patient avoidable harm.
While anaesthesia is typically safe, it does require high precision, attention to detail, and focus. However, errors may occur during preoperative assessment, dosing, or monitoring. The resulting harm can be life-changing, potentially leading to anaphylaxis, lasting brain damage, and psychological trauma.
An example of this in practice is an anaesthetist administering an excessive dose due to failing to perform pre-procedural checks, such as weight, before administration. Too high a dosage can lead to a patient suffering respiratory distress and brain damage. Additionally, insufficient doses or equipment failure may result in anaesthetic awareness claims, if, for example, patients wake up during the procedure and suffer avoidable harm to their mental health.
For more information on what constitutes anaesthetic negligence, please get in touch with our advisors today. They can give you a free case consultation and explain the best course of action.
Common Anaesthetic Mistakes That Lead To Claims
Some common mistakes that can lead to anaesthetic negligence claims range from poor pre-operative assessments to drug errors or inadequate patient monitoring.
More specific examples of mistakes that might lead to a claim can include the following:
- An anaesthetist fails to properly check a patient’s pre-operative notes, meaning they overlook a patient’s pre-existing cardiovascular condition. Due to the stress of anaesthesia and surgery, this results in cardiac arrest.
- Medical staff do not review an individual’s medical history and, as a result, advise the anaesthetist to use a general anaesthetic to which the patient is allergic. The patient suffers anaphylaxis, leaving them with organ damage and lasting psychological trauma.
- Prior to surgery, a healthcare professional incorrectly places a breathing tube, which leads to severe oxygen deprivation. The surgical team fail to notice this, and the patient suffers brain damage as a result.
- When dosing anaesthetic for a surgical procedure, the anaesthetist administers too high a dose due to failing to consider the patient’s body mass index. This leads to serious neurological issues, affecting memory and their ability to perform basic activities.
These examples are by no means exhaustive. If you’d like to discuss your own circumstances and find out if you can pursue an anaesthetic negligence claim, please get in touch with our advisory team today.
When Can You Make An Anaesthetic Compensation Claim?
Anyone can make anaesthetic negligence claims if a medical professional does not deliver the correct standard of care when treating a patient, causing them to suffer unnecessary harm.
Each medical professional owes a duty of care to the patients that they treat. This means they must at all times deliver the minimum standard of care that is expected from them. If they fail in this regard, they are said to have breached their duty of care. A patient who has suffered harm due to the consequences of this breach may be able to seek compensation.
In order to make anaesthetic negligence claims, the following criteria must be met:
- An anaesthetist owed you a duty of care
- The duty of care was breached. An example of this could be if the medical professional administered too much anaesthesia
- As a result of the breach, you suffered harm that was avoidable
Call our team today to see if you can make an anaesthetic negligence claim.
Are There Different Kinds Of Anaesthetic?
Different anaesthetics can be used in a variety of medical situations, including:
- General anaesthetic – Used for major surgery as it causes the patient to be unconscious and unable to feel anything
- Local anaesthetic – Makes a patient numb in the exact area where the operation is taking place. This allows the patient to be awake when the procedure is happening.
- Epidural – Involves injecting the anaesthetic into the sac around the spinal cord, which in turn numbs the back and lower limbs, often used in childbirth.
To see if you could make an anaesthetic negligence claim, contact us for a free consultation.
Injuries And Complications Caused By Anaesthetic Errors
If you have suffered from anaesthesia negligence, then you will already be aware that the consequences can be life-changing.
Examples of such consequences include:
- An anaesthetist administers the wrong dose of anaesthetic. If the dose is lower than required, then this could lead to the patient suffering pain
- A higher dose of anaesthetic is administered, resulting in permanent damage to internal organs
- If an epidural has the wrong placement, this can result in the patient having permanent spinal cord damage and a life-changing disability
- Anaesthetic drops being used in an eye surgery have not worked, causing pain during the procedure and resulting in permanent blindness
- The anaesthetist did not consult the patient’s medical records and, therefore, did not see that they had an allergy to a certain type of anaesthetic. This left the patient to suffer a severe allergic reaction. This could cause post-traumatic stress disorder
This list is not exhaustive, and there are many other types of anaesthetic negligence. To find out more and share your personal experience, call our team to discuss anaesthetic negligence claims.
Anaesthetic Awareness And Waking During Surgery
Anaesthetic awareness is a complication that can occur whilst a patient is under a general anaesthetic. It is when the patient regains consciousness during their surgery. This can occur when a patient has not been provided with enough anaesthetic to put them in a safe and deep enough state of unconsciousness.
Examples of how anaesthetic awareness can happen:
- If the equipment (syringe, tube, needle) that has been used to administer the anaesthetic is faulty
- Failure to consult the patient’s medical records, missing the fact that the patient has increased resistance to general anaesthetics, resulting in the patient waking up during their operation
- Not using enough anaesthetic for the patient to be fully unconscious during their procedure
If this has happened to you, you may be able to make a medical negligence claim. Call our team for a free, no-obligation chat.
How Could Anaesthetic Awareness Affect You?
If this has happened to you, it can be a traumatic experience, not only leaving you with the possibility of having to have the procedure at another time, but it could possibly leave you traumatised. This could cause post-traumatic stress disorder.
After being traumatised by anaesthetic awareness, you could be put off having surgery ever again, which in turn might have a lifelong impact on your health.
If you would like to talk to someone about a possible anaesthetic awareness case, call our team for a free, confidential consultation.
Compensation In Anaesthetic Negligence Claims
Compensation for any claim is divided into sections. There are general damages and special damages. General damages are for your pain, suffering, and loss of amenity (the impact on your quality of life). Your associated financial losses may be covered by special damages.
When valuing general damages in an anaesthetic negligence case, our solicitors may use the Judicial College Guidelines (JCG). This document provides them with guideline compensation brackets for various forms of harm.
You can see some of the JCG’s brackets below. Please note that the top figure in the table isn’t from the JCG, and the inclusion of the publication’s brackets in this guide is not a guarantee of compensation.
| Harm | Compensation |
|---|---|
| Multiple severe instances of harm + special damages (e.g. lost earnings) | £1,000,000+ |
| Tetraplegia | £396,140 to £493,000 |
| Paraplegia | £267,340 to £346,890 |
| Very severe brain damage | £344,150 to £493,000 |
| Moderately severe brain damage | £267,340 to £344,150 |
| Moderate (i) brain damage | £183,190 to £267,340 |
| Kidney (a) | £206,730 to £256,780 |
| Bowels (b) | Up to £183,190 |
| Complete loss of bladder function | Up to £171,680 |
| Severe general psychiatric damage | £66,920 to £141,240 |
Whilst special damages are not always a factor, they can be a major part of a claim. Examples of special damages could be:
- Loss of earnings – The severity of your condition can prevent you from returning to work, and this would be a significant financial loss. This is discussed in more detail in the next section
- Medical care – You might need private medical treatment, physiotherapy, or occupational therapy
- Care and assistance – If the harm is of the most severe, you may require a house manager who would have to tend to your everyday tasks, including cleaning, washing, or paying bills
If there is a financial loss of any kind, you may be able to put forward a claim for special damages. However, you’ll need proof like bank statements and invoices in order to claim for them.
If you would like to discuss special damages and compensation in general, please call our specialist team to discuss how we could help.
Can I Claim For Lost Earnings As Part Of My Medical Negligence Compensation?
If you have suffered medical negligence and have needed to take time off work to recover, it could be possible to recoup the lost earnings as part of your special damages.
The defendant may request documentation to prove your loss, such as 3 months’ wage slips, pre- and post-claim. This allows the defendant to calculate an average of your loss, and this would be the amount that they would offer.
However, if you can prove that you would have lost out on overtime shifts and any bonuses, you may be able to claim for them as well. As with all losses under special damages, you’ll need sufficient evidence to support making a claim for them.
To discuss the loss of earnings and how we could recover them as part of your claim, call our team now, as we are happy to help in any way we can.
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How Are Anaesthetic Claims Proved?
In order for you to prove anaesthetic negligence claims, you will need evidence to support your case.
Examples of evidence can include:
- Medical records, both before and after the procedure
- Keeping a personal diary from when the negligence occurred to provide insight into your experiences and how your life has been affected
- Witness details to pass along to our solicitors. They can contact them at a later date to draft witness statements
- Documents to support any special damages, such as wage slips, bank statements, medical invoices for any rehabilitation, and travel tickets. Anything that can support your out-of-pocket expenses
Also, as part of the medical negligence claims process, you may be invited to an independent medical examination. This is something that our solicitors can arrange for you in your local area at a time that best suits you.
It can feel a bit daunting to think about collecting all of this information by yourself, and we can confirm that this is something that one of our solicitors would assist you with.
For your free consultation to discuss your eligibility for an anaesthetic negligence claim, call us today.
How Long Do Anaesthetic Negligence Claims Take?
The time it takes for anaesthetic negligence claims to settle varies, as every case is assessed on its individual merits. So, even if there was an average timeframe, it might not be relevant to your specific circumstances.
However, certain factors can potentially influence how long it takes to claim compensation for anaesthetic negligence. These can include:
- The evidence you need to build a strong case: In some instances, it may take longer to gather proof if evidence is difficult to obtain. For example, your medical records might be incomplete, or the contact details for witnesses may be out-of-date
- How quick the defendant is to accept liability: Disputes over liability can make proving a case more time-consuming, as a solicitor may need additional evidence to support the claim
- Whether negotiations are straightforward: While most medical negligence claims settle out of court, there may still be a difference of opinion over compensation
- If there is ongoing treatment: Severe forms of harm like paralysis or brain damage can require extensive, ongoing treatment and rehabilitative care. That may mean a solicitor has to delay organising an independent medical assessment on behalf of their client
Keep reading if you’re wondering, ‘Can I claim anaesthetic negligence compensation?‘ on a No Win No Fee basis. In the next section, we’ll answer that question and show how one of our specialist solicitors can help you make a claim. You can also reach out to our advisory team, who have extensive experience handling queries like, ‘Can I sue for anaesthetic negligence?’
How Our Medical Negligence Solicitors Can Help
Our solicitors are extremely experienced, with extensive expertise in medical negligence claims.
They can help with:
- Collecting evidence
- Making appointments with independent medical experts
- Negotiating with the defendant’s solicitors
They can do all this for you and more without taking any upfront or ongoing solicitor fees for their work. This is due to the fact that they work with their clients through something called a Conditional Fee Agreement (CFA), which is a kind of No Win No Fee arrangement.
If you win, then a small success fee will be deducted from your compensation to pay the solicitor for their work. However, the percentage taken is legally capped, which ensures that you receive the majority of your compensation.
If you believe you have suffered from anaesthetic negligence and would like to discuss the matter further, please call one of our expert advisors. They are available 24/7 and are waiting to help you take your first steps towards claiming compensation:
- Phone: 0800 073 8804
- Contact us to see if you’re eligible to claim
- Live chat available
Frequently Asked Questions About Anaesthetic Negligence Claims
Below, we discuss some of the most commonly asked questions regarding anaesthetic compensation. If you have any further questions regarding anaesthetic negligence claims, please don’t hesitate to contact our advisors today.
Can You Sue For Waking Up During Surgery?
Yes, you can sue for waking up during surgery, as anaesthetic awareness claims can be made if this occurs because of substandard care and causes you avoidable harm.
Can Anaesthetic Mistakes Cause Brain Injury?
Yes, anaesthetic mistakes can result in brain damage, as errors in medication administration may limit oxygen delivery and blood flow.
Who Is Liable For Anaesthetic Errors In The NHS?
Individual trusts are liable for anaesthetic errors in the NHS that occur in hospitals under their control. NHS Resolution manages claims on behalf of these trusts.
Can I Claim If I Had An Allergic Reaction To Anaesthetic?
Yes, you can claim if you had an allergic reaction to anaesthetic, provided that your allergy was documented and the reaction resulted from receiving substandard care, leading to your unnecessary suffering.
Can I Claim For PTSD After Anaesthetic Awareness?
Yes, you could claim for PTSD after anaesthetic awareness, as you can pursue compensation for any avoidable psychological harm caused by negligent medical treatment.
More Information On Medical Negligence Compensation Claims
Further resources below:
- Learn more about hospital negligence claims
- Find out further details about GP negligence claims
- See more about medical negligence compensation payouts
Learn more from the resources below relating to anaesthesia:
- Read patient guidance from the Royal College of Anaesthetists (RCA)
- An overview of general anaesthesia from the RCA
- Find out more about statutory sick pay from the government
We would like to thank you for taking the time to read our guide about making anaesthetic negligence claims. Please call today!